Christmas Nutcracker

Want to find a gift that is thoughtful and unique? Forget the impersonal fruit baskets this holiday season and replace them with the handcrafted charm of German nutcrackers. The German nutcrackers, are one-of-a-kind treasures that will find a place in someone's heart for every Christmas to come.

Christmas is the time of year for nostalgia, and there is nothing more nostalgic that a wooden nutcracker collectible to add to your Christmas experience.  Each nutcracker brings back memories of sugar plum fairies dancing in The Nutcracker ballet.  When I was a child, I used to go see The Nutcracker year after year with my grandparents during the Christmas season.

The most highly coveted decorative nutcrackers are handmade finely crafted collectors' items. Decorative nutcrackers first appeared in the 16th century in Europe. Some of the most well known hand carved nutcrackers are Steinbach, Erzgebirge, and Ulbricht nutcrackers. These started out as family traditions as something to do in the off-season from their regular work and grew into a family tradition of providing Christmas nutcrackers to the world.  Collectible nutcrackers can be very pricey, depending on how rare they are.

Other related collectible gift items are hand crafted Christmas incense smokers.  You can buy incense to burn in them that helps create the perfect Christmas atmosphere in your home, a soothing cinnamon and spice scent permeating every room.

Incense smokers come out of a similar tradition as nutcrackers, especially from the Steinbach family.  Each character is hand carved with its unique personality and place in German life.

Nutcrackers are no longer just a European phenomenon, but are available in characters such as Native Americans, Disney characters, famous historical figures, characters from movies and television, Sesame Street characters, Wizard of Oz characters and much more.  They make fun gifts for family members, or special friends, employees, and customers.  Why not add more tradition to someone's Christmas?